50 foot privacy fence line

Killeen, TX(Zone 8b)

Hi there, I am looking for fence-line ideas.
since the backyard is sloped and it is impossible to even it all out, the plan is to put a small retaining wall towards the fence ( that belongs to the neighbor behind us) and to use a bobcat to even out the rest of the yard .... also we will add a french ditch close to the patio as well ...
the work on the patio is still in progress: needs still painting and staining, pillars not finished as of yet as well....

Since our renters practically destroyed our wildlife habitat that we once had here ... we are starting over. Except for a few bulbs that we pulled up and have in pots and the mulberry tree which sits about 8 foot away from the back fence line and about 14 feet from the fence to the left we are replacing everything.
so far the following plants have been purchased and are ready to be planted : 7 mock oranges, 4 Natchez crepe myrtles and 1 beauty bush. The plan is to plant these in a combination behind the mulberry tree along the 50 foot fence line
Now we need landscape ideas to place these in front of the 50-foot long fence.
Any ideas are appreciated.
We have a Golden Retriever that loves to chew on plants , therefore the choice of trees and bushes.

This message was edited Mar 14, 2017 3:38 PM

This message was edited Mar 14, 2017 2:57 PM

Thumbnail by Simona76543 Thumbnail by Simona76543
Dallas, TX

I'm not familiar with the requirements of the plants you have already purchased but unfortunately I'm very familiar with planting things in the wrong places. Before you do any digging, determine how much sun each part of the area will receive. The fence will cast a fair amount of shade. And as the mulberry tree grows, it will continue to shade the area. I'm trying to determine sun/shade for myself as I have large oaks as do my neighbors. Of course during the 'winter' when the leaves have fallen, sure seems like I have a lot of sun. Wrong! It's very fleeting. So here's what I'm trying to do right now.
The camera on my phone records the date & time each picture was taken. So I've been taking pictures of my front and back yards from various view points at different times of the day - and only if the sun is out. Then when I'm really serious (or have some $$), I'll know whether I should stop drooling over all the flowering native perennials that require more sun then they'll get from me.

I purposely mentioned 'native perennials' because those are plants that will do best no matter where you live.

Have you tested your soil? Do you know if it's alkaline or whatever? Whatever it is, it's always good to amend it with some good compost and various kinds of yummy stuff.

As for toxicity, you can probably do a search on each plant to find out that information.

That's about all of the help I can offer. Design is definitely not my strong point. But I have learned the hard way about paying attention to the needs of what I plant. Do I gamble sometimes? Yep. But not on anything major.

You might flip through a lot of magazines or surf the web to get some basic design ideas. Keep track of what you like and then see if it's something that will meet your requirements. There are a lot of tempting designs out there!

Maybe some other folks will see your question and be able to make some design suggestions. (Is there a forum for that?)

Good luck and happy gardening.

Fort Worth, TX

Native plants do very well where fancy nursery varieties fail. NPSOT.org has a list of the spring plant sale dates for Texas, probably one coming up in your area. (yes I'm a member and very excited about what we are doing, but I also STILL have native plants from 20 years ago that I bought at the sale.)

If you want butterflies, blue mistflower, Autumn red salvia greggi, and lantana (which I don't think the dog will eat) are good choices. for shrubbery I like vitex, it gets BIG and covered with bees, turks cap doesn't want to be at the bottom of the hill but it draws hummers and more butterflies, and passionflower vine will draw lots of Gulf fritteraries. It does get big and heavy but I love the stuff and the little caterpillars that form cocoons and hang them all over are pretty neat. Texas sage doesn't wet feet, top of the hill. and for february blooms, Carolina jessamine. Coral honeysuckle is also always nice.

Dallas, TX

Agree with Gypsi except for the Vitex. I love it but I'm pretty sure it's on the invasive plants list.

Fort Worth, TX

Vitex is drought hardy and it does get big, but compared to Crape Myrtle fewer shoots and runners. I'm still trying to kill off the roots of the giant crape myrtle that tore up my garage roof.

It is true, that it is on the list, but getting seeds to germinate in a drought, poses little risk for much of north Texas, and I don't know if the seeds will remain viable after a few years without rain.
http://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subject.html?sub=14022

This message was edited Mar 18, 2017 9:45 AM

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